Orestes in the Temple Picture

Orestes was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Plotting with his sister Electra, he murdered Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus to avenge his father’s death. As a consequence, he was tormented by the Erinyes, or Furies, who followed him everywhere he went. He took refuge in the temple at Delphi but Apollo was powerless to protect Orestes. At last Athena received him on the acropolis of Athens and arranged a formal trial of the case that led to his acquittal.